In October 2004, when her family situation turned abusive, a Texas court placed then 17-year old Justine in a residential treatment facility. Justine and her younger brother, adopted near birth by a career military officer and his wife, were home schooled in standard curriculum as well as Bible stories by their adoptive mother. This strict upbringing and social isolation during their primary and middle school years set the stage for a difficult adolescent period for Justine.

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“Prior to 9/11, I thought I was a normal white person but then I found out that I wasn’t, that I was an Arab, and that people were relating to me differently,” says Shamseddeen Moussaoui. “This also happened at a time in my life when I was already trying to figure out who I was, so my confusion often turned to anger and that into fights. After I got expelled from Crescent Valley High School midway through my junior year, after school officials could no longer deal with my continuous troublemaking, I realized I was throwing everything away and decided I needed to change.”

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